Without Blinders
by Alverd
Summary: Out of the 48 Teigu created by the First Emperor, almost half of them were lost during a civil war. What would happen though if one of those Teigu were not in fact lost. What if there was a Teigu that was instead kept hidden by the royal family. Watch as Emperor Makoto, armed with a new Teigu uncovers the truth about his Empire.
1. Chapter 1

_Disclaimer: __I_ _don't own Akame ga Kiru_

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Makoto sighed. Today was a trying day for the young emperor, full of reports about the state of the Empire's affairs (which boiled down to "still okay but full of unrest") , as well as enough decision-making to make him once again realize how tiring the role of Emperor was, with the most notable decision being sentencing Internal Affairs Officer Shoui to a horrible death, something that still weighted heavily on the emperor's conscience due to the huge waste that it was.

The man, despite being opposed to the new political measures Makoto recently placed, seemed passionate and Makoto had to at least admire the man's dedication and courage, however misguided. After all, to not only openly question his judgement but to also accuse the Prime Minister, the most trusted adviser of the Emperor, of deceiving him, despite the absurdity of such an accusation, is not something one lacking in dedication or courage could do. It really was a shame he had to die, but the Emperor could not afford to show weakness, since, to let the man live, or for that matter to even consider his words, would make him appear weak and indecisive, something Makoto wanted to avoid at all costs. To do otherwise would make the efforts of Prime Minister Honest, who fought valiantly to allow him to rule, go to waste.

'But it's okay', Makoto thought. 'After all, Minister Honest said that this would allow the Empire to prosper, so I can't let this keep me down'. Indeed, the young emperor's thoughts made his heart feel lighter and allowed him to relax a little more as he laid on his bed in his chambers. However, fate truly seemed to have it out for poor Makoto, as, just as his eyes gave up trying to stay open and he started falling asleep, he was rudely jerked back to reality when everything started shaking.

"What's going on?" Makoto shouted, surprised by the earthquake. Now, normally, Makoto wouldn't have panicked and would have simply waited out the earthquake before even thinking of getting up from his royal bed, since the bed, including its roof, was made of very sturdy wood, making it as good as any object that one would typically duck under in case of an earthquake. Unfortunately, not only were earthquakes so rare in the Capital that people born and raised there only knew about them from hearsay and texts, but Makoto was already very tired and half-asleep. All those factors added together led to Makoto jumping off his bed and stumbling around in panic.

Predictably, Makoto's attempts led to his fall, as the child emperor wasn't in the right state of mind to successfully maintain his balance and ended up slamming into a wall, thus resulting in a painful headache, which would be compounded by the family portrait falling on him. The portrait, which was originally hanging from the wall, was dislodged from its place due to the combined shaking from his impact on the wall and the earthquake. Although it was the furthest thing from his mind at that moment, Makoto would later consider himself fortunate that nobody had been around to witness the rather comical scene.

"Ow" Makoto moaned as the world around him stopped shaking and he could finally get up from his position on the floor. Looking at the object that had fallen on him, Makoto's eyes softened as he laid eyes on the portrait of his family, one of the few items he couldn't bear to have removed from the chamber that was formerly his father's, now his own, no matter how much it pained him to look at it.

The portrait was made just a year before his father's death and a little less than four years since he became the Emperor at the tender age of eight, yet Makoto could still see the contrast between the people depicted on the canvas and the reality presented in his own memories. He still had to force himself to connect the gentle, regal figure in the picture with the pale, cold,, lifeless body that he remembered seeing in this very room. He had even more trouble doing the same with the gently smiling figure of his mother and the still body he remembered seeing when he rushed to the Minister's side when the man had shouted in terror. The contrast between the warm eyes full of kindness his mother had in live and the empty, defeated look he saw in her eyes that day made Makoto tear up every time he compared the two in his mind.

And then there was the last face. His own. The difference between the child prince of the past depicted and the young emperor was staggering, especially to Makoto himself. Where the portrait showed a face free of worries and full of kindness, a simple look in the mirror showed the face of someone carrying a great burden. The eyes that once shined with innocence and admiration for his parents now burned with a passion to live up to everyone's expectations and be the best emperor he could possible be. Makoto sighed and once again reminded himself of the reason why he hadn't already had the portrait moved despite the emotions it stirred within him: It was a work of art beyond any other depiction of his parents and it made him feel like he was doing them a disservice by not leaving the portrait hanging from the wall, as a link of some sort between him and his parents.

"Well, I guess I should put you back now." Makoto said with a sad tone as he turned to place the protrait back to its rightful place. However, the young emperor was frozen in his tracks when he laid eyes on the spot the portait was originally covering. Unlike the the rest of the wall, which was a pure white adorned with various gold and red patterns , that part of the wall was painted in the likeness of the Imperial Seal: A red dragon circling a golden circle filled with alchemical symbols, with a golden ribbon hanging from its bottom and a red and white shield inside the circle itself. On the tip of that shield sat a shape that resembled a bird, with its wings spread and its beak pointed up towards the sky, with a red sphere between two golden crescents and a thin golden needle rising from its top. It wasn't this, though, that drew Makoto's attention. No, what gave the young emperor pause was the small opening carved into the wall, as well as its contents.

There, before Makoto's astonished eyes, was a single box. Curious about what it held, Makoto removed the box from its hiding place, his hands trembling from his anxiousness as he did so.

'Well, the moment of truth...' Makoto thought as he observed his find. Painted black with gold decorations all around, this was no simple box, 'Rather' Makoto observed, 'it looks like one of those jewelry cases Mother had'. Confused about what such a box would be doing hidden like that, Makoto carefully started opening it.

Whatever he was expecting to find inside the box, Makoto definitely wasn't expecting to find another box with a letter sitting on top of it. Placing everything but the letter on his desk, Makoto opened the strange letter.

 _Makoto,_

 _If you are reading this, I am most likely dead. While I want to believe that this is simply my imagination and I am overreacting, when one is the emperor, it is better to err on the side of caution. For a few days now I have been feeling increasingly ill and I do not want to leave you without some guidance to help you. Inside this box, you will find an item that will help you get a better understanding of what actions to take, a Teigu._

 _As you are no doubt aware of by this point, the royal bloodline has a secret weapon in the form of the Teigu Shikoutazer, which can only be used by someone who carries the blood of the First Emperor in his veins. What you do not know is that there is **another** Teigu that can only be used by the royal bloodline, one that is used in cases where subtlety is preferable to the brute force and sheer power of the Shikoutazer. That is the Teigu Maskerade, which allows its user to take on any form they wish._

 _Remember Makoto, a wise ruler is a ruler that knows the wishes of his subjects and understands their problems. Do not allow anyone to tell you otherwise._

 _Whatever happens, whatever fate may befall me, I know you will be able to pull through. Good luck my son and know that I will always love you._

 _Love,_

 _Your father_

Makoto was speechless. Here was proof not only of the greatness of his father's character, but also of the faith he had in him. Tears came unbidden in the his eyes as his sadness, caused by the unfairness of the world, who took his father and caused his mother to commit suicide to join him, overwhelmed him. With hands trembling with raw emotion, he wiped away his tears and turned toward the remaining box. At that point though he paused. Was he ready to do this? Could he really use such a Teigu? While his father said in his letter that he had faith in him, he was likely referring to an older Makoto, one much more prepared for the responsibilities of the emperor, since his mother would have been regent until he came of age. **'It's pointless'** whispered a dark part of his mind **'You've already accepted the responsibilities. If you are unwilling to use this gift to make up for what you lack in knowledge and experience, now** _ **that**_ **would be the height of foolishness'**. And Makoto had to agree. After all, no matter what his father may have predicted, he was already the emperor and thus, according to the letter, he needed this Teigu if he wanted to learn how to rule his Empire.

With new determination, he opened the final box and stared at the powerful object hidden within it. Truly, the Maskerade wasn't nearly as impressive as his father's letter made it sound, but then again that was most likely on purpose. A simple silver ring with an emerald green stone, the Teigu looked more like a simple piece of jewelry than anything else. Steeling his nerves, Makoto picked it up from the soft fabric it rested on and slipped it on his left ring finger.

The moment the ring rested on his finger, it shrunk until it fit him perfectly. At the same time, Makoto felt a presence in his mind, establishing a connection between the young emperor and the unassuming Teigu. Images flashed through Makoto's eyes, showing him a silhouette, draped in regal looking clothing, similar to Makoto's own royal regalia, resized to fit the silhouette's larger frame. Resting on the silhouette's ring finger was Maskerade, the ring Teigu being the only part of the silhouette that was shown in color. In the blink of an eye, Makoto saw the silhouette become a lion, then a small child, before returning to its original form. At the same time though, Makoto also felt what he could only assume to be what the silhouette was feeling, the mental orders it sent to the Teigu to shapeshift, the heightened senses of the lion and the energetic feeling the child form possessed. Makoto felt all that and more as the Teigu shared these images with him, as it taught him how to wield its power.

With a gasp of air, Makoto returned to reality, gazing upon the powerful artifact with awe, before a feeling of excitement rushed through him. This was it! With this Teigu he could find out everything his subjects thought, what they wanted, what problems ailed them, all without worrying the Prime Minister, or placing himself in danger. Truly, Makoto had never felt more confident as he did now. He would never again have to worry about self-doubt or a guilty conscience, as he would be able to see his people prosper as a result of his decisions, able to see them smile and laugh under his rule. Now he just had to practice with Maskerade a bit and think of possible ways to use it to reach his goals and he was set!

Truly, Makoto had no idea what he was in for.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Akame ga Kiru**_

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Makoto was on his way back to his chambers, his duties for the day done with, his two personal guards by his side. On his way, he started going over his schedule, once again glad for the Prime Minister's thoughtfulness in making sure that he could still have some time for himself despite the tasks his title demanded of him. Each morning, Makoto would go through any papers that required his signing, which would later be collected by his secretary and delivered to the appropriate official. Afterwards, he would usually have a little bit of free time to further his studies (can't have the Emperor being illiterate after all). Then, finally, the young emperor would head to the throne room, where he would be presented with a number of verbal reports, a lot of which required his input. On top of all this, should there be a need for swift decision-making on his part, Makoto would have to drop whatever he was doing at that moment to deal with the issue. Issues like this could be any number of important things, from an assassination to an audience with an important individual, no matter the case, the Emperor had to be there. Overall, it was a trying lifestyle for Makoto, what with the Empire's current state of affairs.

Once, Makoto admired his father for his wisdom and great leadership, as well as his great kindness. During his rein, the Empire enjoyed a period of peace (both internal and external) and prosperity that reached even the farthest reaches of the great nation. However, ever since becoming an emperor, Makoto gained new respect for his predecessor, more specifically, for his saintly patience. Seriously, Makoto was well-aware that what he was experiencing was only a fraction of what his father did, yet, still, listening for hours on end to mind numbingly boring reports about the various internal and external affairs of the Empire never failed to give him a headache, even though the Prime Minister was shouldering a large part of the official paperwork . How his father managed to do all that and _more_ and be so full of energy afterwards was beyond Makoto's understanding.

Speaking from experience, most days, all the Emperor had to address were a bunch of reports, most of which were simply about things like the amount of crops harvested, tax income or complaints from various Ministries of the Empire about "lack of funding". Occasionally, there would be reports about some kind of crime worthy enough of being addressed directly by the Emperor, or about the rebel army that seemed insistent on destroying the peace Makoto's father brought. Events of outright rebellion among the ranks of the Empire, like the one with Officer Shoui were actually incredibly rare.

At that thought, Makoto's thoughts turned towards the silver ring resting on his finger. Maskerade. It has only been three days, but he believes he has more or less figured out what he can currently do with it.

First, Maskerade didn't have any kind of activation command or action. All Makoto needed to do to activate it was to mentally command it to do so, something he had practiced throughout the day, everyday, in order to be sure that he could do it even under stress. This tied neatly to the his second discovery about the Teigu, that is, the transformation didn't need to change his whole body, or even be noticeable for that matter. This Makoto discovered very early on when he was wondering if he could somehow hide Maskerade's existence without needing to take it off. Imagine his surprise when, just a second afterwards, the ring suddenly vanished, as if it had never been there. However, Makoto could still _feel_ the ring's presence in his mind, leading him to believe that the Teigu's vanishing act was some kind of disguise caused by its power, rather than a permanent destruction. This theory would be confirmed moments later, when Maskerade reappeared on its user's finger the moment Makoto willed it to do so.

Finally, Makoto quickly found out that using his Teigu was challenging for him. Well, to be more specific, initiating a transformation was the difficult part, since it made him feel tired for a few moments. Maintaining the form afterwards, though, was practically effortless. Additionally, the fatigue brought by the transformation varied, although Makoto had no idea what determined the things, like turning into a cat or a dog, didn't really drain him, but trying to change into a full-grown lion, like he saw the silhouette do, ended up with him feeling like he just ran around the entire Capital.

All these discoveries, though, seemed odd to Makoto, as, when compared to what he saw the silhouette do in the visions caused by Maskerade, they didn't seem to match what he should be able to do. Having said that,if his observation was correct and he couldn't use the Teigu to its fullest, why was that? The only theory Makoto had was that his father expected him to be older when he found his letter, as tradition dictated that the Emperor's chambers be sealed until a new Emperor was crowned, meaning that Makoto wouldn't be able to access the chamber, much less redecorate it and thus find the hidden box, until he came of age. As such, Makoto came to the conclusion that his body wasn't yet able to handle the strain that would be placed upon it by the full power of the Teigu. Unfortunately though, he couldn't get a definitive answer without attracting the Prime Minister's attention.

Speaking of the Prime Minister, Makoto had, after much consideration, decided it was better to keep Maskerade a secret from his friend, lest he unnecessarily worry him. This was the reason why, even now, as he was heading towards his chambers, he kept his Teigu hidden by changing his hand so that it was exactly the same as it was four days ago, no silver or emerald to be seen on his fingers. While it pained Makoto to do this to his friend and he mentally apologized to him for this deception, he wanted, above all else, to make his father proud of him. As such, he could not afford not to master his final gift to him. To that end, he constantly practiced all day by subtly transforming his body in a way that would go unnoticed by others. So far, he simply stuck to hiding Maskerade and changing the color of his hair, or, at least, the part hidden by his headdress. On his free time, he practiced transforming into various people and animals, in order to become more accustomed to his Teigu's power.

Makoto's train of thought came to a stop as he finally arrived at his chambers. Taking note of the general untidiness of his surroundings, the young emperor lamented the need to prohibit all servants from accessing the room. With the death of his parents and his youth, it was decided by the imperial council that, if Makoto were to rule at this young age, some safety measures were necessary, so that the line of the First Emperor's direct descendants wouldn't die out, should anyone try to have Makoto assassinated. One of those safety measures included, to Makoto's great displeasure, limiting the servants' access to his room. To put it simply, in order for any servant to gain access to his room they would have to be approved by both Makoto and the Prime Minister, facing punishments ranging from unemployment to execution should they be rejected by either one of them, with similar measures taken for his guards. Suffice to say, no one had tried their luck yet.

With a tired sigh, Makoto entered his room, leaving his guards behind. As he was changing out of his royal regalia, his mind was working, trying to erase his doubts about what he was planning to do tomorrow. Now in his sleepwear, the young emperor sat in front of his desk, going over his plan once again. Since reading his father's letter, he could not get his words out of his head. _"A wise ruler is a ruler that knows the wishes of his subjects and understands their problems"_.That single sentence was enough to make Makoto feel ashamed of himself. While he had, since replacing his father, become familiar with his duties as an emperor and his use of his authority impressed even the Prime Minister, Makoto could admit to himself that he had completely neglected to interact with his people. It was for this reason that he had hatched this plan and it was because of the deep shame he felt as a result of his inaction that he decided to ignore his impulse to tell the Prime Minister about Maskerade. Because, at the end of the day, while Makoto tried his best to account for everything, he was certain that there would be things that he missed or simply wasn't even aware of and he didn't want his friend to worry for him, for Makoto would not stop. No matter what, he would make sure to fix his mistake.

 _ **The next day**_

As he was sitting on his throne, Makoto tried his best to ignore the weariness plaguing his body, his mind barely paying attention to the Minister of Finances currently trying (and failing) to make the same report he had given for months now seem interesting. 'Just a little bit more' he thought, 'You have to make this convincing, otherwise someone might suspect you'. Knowing this, though, didn't make what he was doing any easier.

Finally, the Minister seemed to realize the futility of his actions and chose to simply sum up his report and stare at the floor as he bowed before his Emperor. Seizing this opportunity, Makoto initiated his plan. "Minister of Finances Ching " he said as he rose from his throne " We understand your worries, but to..." Makoto trailed off as the world started spinning and his legs struggled to keep their balance, causing him to collapse back on his throne. It was at that moment that the guards that stood behind the Captain rushed to the Emperor's side, finally free to help their stubborn ruler. They were not alone though, for they were accompanied by the royal doctor, who had been already notified.

It was entirely unsurprising to everyone present when the doctor diagnosed the exhausted Emperor with a strong fever. After all, this wasn't unprecedented, for the Emperor was always unwilling to delegate his duties to anyone, unless he was presented with no other choice. Already, this was the **tenth time** he had pushed himself like this, so, for many, this was almost a routine procedure. The Emperor would exhaust himself until he could no longer continue, the doctor and the guards would rush to his aid, the Prime Minister would make a speech about some positive quality this behavior exhibited in order to get him to continue to do so and the guards would carry the Emperor back to his chambers.

Indeed, the events that played out in the throne room followed that general outline to the letter, with the now pale from sickness Emperor escorted to his room. However, it was at that point that what would come to be regarded as a new part of the routine happened. "Doctor" the Emperor called, his voice weak from exhaustion, "Yes, your Majesty?" the royal doctor asked his patient, who now rested on his bed, "Could you leave any medicine I will need to take on my drawer" he nodded towards the drawer next to his bed, "I have had to take them so many times already that I know what to do without your instructions".

The doctor was, understandably, hesitant about this. On one hand, the Emperor was his patient and this was, after all, the reason he was employed by the Crown. On the other hand, the Emperor was right, he had had similar health issues before and should thus have a basic understanding of what he had to do and how to take the medicine. Plus, although he was a child, he was very mature for his age, so the doctor doubted he would simply choose not to take his medicine, like other kids would. To be honest though, the decisive factor wasn't any of the aforementioned reasons, but, rather, it was the thought of the "bonus" he would receive from the Minister should the Emperor take a little longer to recover, leaving him with extra time to do whatever he wanted while the Emperor was indisposed. Decision made, the doctor took a bottle of medicine and a thermometer out of his medicine kit and wrote a few instructions on a page of the notebook he carried with him, before putting the bottle on top of the drawer and then turning to address his patient.

From Makoto's perspective, his doctor seemed to have fallen in deep thought, before he seemingly agreed to his request, before turning to talk to him. " Your Majesty, I have written some instructions on this page" he said as he showed Makoto a page torn out of the his notebook, "If you follow them, you should be rid of your fever in a few days, but I insist that you take at least another day to rest properly and make sure that you are indeed healthy" he said in a worried tone. " Thank you" Makoto said "and I apologize for making you worry about me". At hearing this, the doctor seemed to calm down a little, although Makoto could still see a bit of worry and... something else that he couldn't identify in the man's eyes. "Remember your Majesty, should any new symptoms appear, send for me immediately" and with these final words, he exited the room.

Makoto waited until he could no longer hear the doctor's footsteps before sighing in relief, cancelling his transformation as he did so. Where before lay a weak, pale boy who looked like he would pass out at any moment, now lay a perfectly healthy Makoto. Contrary to popular belief, Makoto was well aware that pushing himself to exhaustion was a very bad habit, he just was too righteous to avoid his duties because of some sickness or tiredness. Still though, he figured it was necessary to do so this time if it meant righting his greatest mistake.

Getting up from his bed, Makoto swiftly changed out of his regalia and into his least eye-catching clothes and moved towards the balcony. Opening the doors and allowing fresh air to drift into the room, Makoto took a moment to steel his nerves. Looking at it, Makoto realized for the first time the enormity of the wall surrounding his palace. Never before had he felt so trapped before, as he gazed at the massive white barrier that separated the palace from the rest of the Capital. Carefully closing the doors behind him despite there being no need to, for there was nobody around his room even in situations like these, he took a steadying breath to prepare himself, before letting the power of his Teigu change him. Suddenly in possession of a much lighter, feathered body, Makoto took flight, flying away from his palace to explore the unknown city that was the center of his Empire.

How ironic that the Emperor would have to disguise himself as a common pigeon in order to see his own capital.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

 _ **Disclaimer:**_ _I don't own Akame ga Kiru_

It's kind of sad really, how even the best laid plans can be ruined by random factors. Having said that, it's hardly surprising that Makoto's hastily put together plan would have some flaws and it was one of those flaws that led to the shapeshifting emperor's current state of panic. While he had practiced flying around his room to prepare for this, there was no comparison to be had with what he was currently experiencing, something Makoto only now realized. His chambers, while spacious as befitting the Emperor, couldn't even begin to compare with what he was experiencing now. There was no floor below for him to land safely should he mess up, at least, not one that he could reach without first lowering his altitude. On top of that, the sheer number of possible ways to move was disorienting, to say the least. And finally, as if to further point out his inadequacy, there were wind currents that he had to navigate to even begin to fly properly. So, with all those factors against him, it is hardly a surprise that Makoto's first real flight ended up turning into a trial by fire, or rather, _by gravity_.

Mind muddled by fear, Makoto desperately tried to right himself in the air, flapping his wings as fast as he could in his effort to survive. Then, as he was nearing the ground at increasing speed, something unexpected happened. Bit by bit, Makoto's mind calmed down and his body moved as if it had a mind of its own, turning in the air in a move similar to a nosedive, until he was looking at the clear blue skies instead of the gray stone pavement below him. With the momentum from the dive, Makoto found himself ascending at ludicrous speeds, reaching the top of the wall in a matter of seconds.

Had someone told him a week ago that he would be sneaking out of his own palace as a pigeon, the Emperor would probably have them placed in solitary confinement or executed as a form of mercy killing because, clearly, they were mentally ill. ' And wouldn't that be an embarrassing mistake.' mused Makoto in amusement. ' Still, ', he thought, ' this is certainly... perplexing. I am certain I should not possess the ability to fly this well, that fall proved that, yet I now feel as if it is second nature to me. Is this perhaps another ability of Maskerade?'.

It had to be, there was no way he could suddenly learn to fly this well on his own. Maybe Maskerade could also help the mind adapt to the forms the user took? If so, then why did it only happen now, instead of all the other times he had tranformed? Was it some kind of reaction to danger? These were just a few of the questions running through Makoto's mind. 'Perhaps I should leave any further pondering for after I return to the palace', he though 'Otherwise this entire plan would be pointless'. His decision made, Makoto continued gliding down toward the city.

After a few more minutes of flying, Makoto had finally managed to descend down to the city, landing on the roof of a random building. Having decided to rest for a bit, the disguised emperor decided to use that time to observe his surroundings. Seeing it from up close, Makoto realized that he had landed in what appeared to be a shopping district, what with the huge amount of shops, each selling different wares. Clothes,fruit and vegetable, footwear,meat, jewelry,books, dresses, household items. And that was just the shops in the street. Beside them, there were numerous restaurants, cafés and other such establishments all throughout the street. Suffice to say, Makoto felt way out of his depth.

And then there was the people. Makoto had always known that there was a difference of lifestyle between commoners and nobles (to say nothing of royalty), but only now did he realize how big it was. Most people Makoto knew were rather careful of their appearance, always appearing professional and respectful, in order to maintain their image. However, looking at the people below him, the young emperor was surprised by how casual and carefree they looked. Not a single one among them looked to have any worries about looking strong among their peers, all of them were simply going about, leading normal lives. The sight of this made Makoto feel conflicted. On one hand, he was happy that his people enjoyed such carefree lives. On the other hand though, he was not used to people just ignoring him like this. This second thought was entirely nonsensical, he knew, since he was currently a pigeon, but it was nonetheless present.

It was at this point that Makoto was brought out of his wondering, when he noticed a very important detail. Their clothes. Having finally noticed that detail, Makoto realized that the outfit he had chosen for this excursion would make him stick out like a sore thumb. With this in mind, Makoto made sure to look carefully at what most people wore, analyzing the apparel in his mind in order to mimic it later.

Confident now that he could blend in with the people, Makoto took flight once again, eager to explore as much of the ironically unfamiliar city. He flew over numerous streets and saw a lot of different things, from forges to parks, as well as many different kinds of people, all of whom appeared, in Makoto's eyes, to be content in life. Seeing all this really moved the young emperor, as it stood as confirmation of his wise choices. All this was a result of his actions! The mere thought of this encouraged Makoto more than even the kind words of the Prime Minister ever could and made Makoto feel justified in his decision to sneak out of his palace. However, even though he had seen a bit of the Capital by flying, Makoto wanted to know his city a little more personally than that, so he decided to take another risk. After a bit of searching, he found an empty alley behind a bar where he could transform without anyone seeing him.

In an instant, where before stood a simple pigeon now stood a child with short brown hair, brown eyes, a cream white T-shirt and navy blue pants. 'This should do the job rather well' Makoto thought. For the sake of simplicity, he had chosen to keep most of other features the same, as he figured that none of the regular citizens would know his image well enough to recognize him without his green hair and eyes and his royal regalia. Confident in his disguise, Makoto stepped out of the alley and into the streets.

 _ **5 hours later...**_

As the sun slowly set, bathing the city in an orange glow, Makoto decided to take a break from his exploration to admire the view from a higher vantage point. So here he was, sitting on the rooftop of a random building he saw after a brief aerial search (he did make sure to retain his disguised human form though, in case anyone spotted him) . As he basked in the warmth of the sun watching a sunset outside of the palace for the first time in what felt like centuries, Makoto thought back to his exploration of the Capital. All in all, Makoto could say with certainty that the Capital was indeed a beautiful city. Everywhere he went was bathed in lively colours, looking like it burst out of a painting. And that wasn't even taking into account the more imressive appearance of the areas of the city reserved for the higher class citizens, of which some parts could be seen even from the street he currently observed.

Of course, a city wasn't just a sum of empty buildings. It also required people to live in it, to work in it, to travel to it and leave it for other places. And it really was the people that Makoto found truly fascinating. Each of them was one of his citizens, yet he could see that they were all too different for them to be categorized by just that. It was slowly beginning to dawn on the young emperor that the people he ruled were more than just a faceless mass, more than just a random number that signified the Empire's population. The thought was, understandably, more than little overwhelming for the almost twelve year old.

Having said that, the thing about the Capital that Makoto loved most of all was its sheer size, or rather what it represented. To think that there were so many people thriving under _his_ rule! The thought alone was enough to make Makoto feel like his heart might burst from happiness!

So, as he sat on the rooftop, mind fuzzy with happiness, Makoto allowed himself a small moment to relax.

He never even noticed when he fell back on the hard floor of the rooftop, asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own Akame ga Kiru_

* * *

It was a cool night breeze that disturbed Makoto from his sleep.

At first, Makoto was confused as to where he was, since he was very clearly _not_ sleeping on his bed, but rather on a hard surface, making for an uncomfortable sleep.

This state of mind lasted for about 10 seconds and was then obliterated as he saw the night sky over him.

Memories of the events that led to this situation came rushing back to him, reminding him that he was, in fact, outside his palace, alone, in the night.

...

...

...

"Oh no!" Makoto half-shouted as he turned into a pigeon, terrified by the unexpected turn of events.

In a blink of an eye he was moving through the sky, wings flapping madly to provide acceleration. 'I need to get back' he repeatedly thought to himself, each sentence increasing the sense of urgency in his head. He moved over countless roads, rising higher and higher, until he could see the walls surrounding the palace ahead of him, standing tall as always.

Too tall, in fact.

While ascending over the walls from his balcony was easy, doing the same from the much more distant and lower in altitude, by comparison, rooftop of the building, where he had taken his unexpected nap, was much more difficult for the little pigeon he had transformed into. On top of all that, Makoto's panicked flight was anything but well paced. As such, Makoto quickly found himself unable to muster the strength to keep on flapping his wings to ascend. Unwilling to back down, the shapeshifting child tried to find an air current, a strong wind, anything at all to help him climb further up into the sky, to no avail.

Unable to continue his flight, Makoto was forced to glide back towards the ground. Landing in an empty road near a public square, he switched to his human disguise before realizing how bad an idea that was. During his flight, he had pushed his body more than he had ever done before and now that the adrenaline had started to fade, he could feel his body protesting against his actions. Trying to pay no mind to the sensations, he made his way to the public square, before collapsing on a bench in exhaustion.

As he rested, Makoto couldn't help but feel afraid. He was alone, in the middle of the night, away from his palace, to which he couldn't return due to a lack of strength. At the thought, Makoto felt like a stone had been dropped in his stomach. He couldn't go back. Never before had he felt so trapped. Desperately, he tried to think of any way to prove this not to be true, when it dawned on him. He couldn't go back _right now_.That wasn't to say he couldn't return ever, he realized, in fact, if he rested for a while he should be able to make it past the walls. The relief that washed over Makoto was like salvation, like a radiant beacon of hope, which assured him that everything would be fine.

It was this feeling of security that led Makoto to another realization. As long as he wasn't tired from prior activities and paced himself, he should be able to make it back to the palace, so he could take this opportunity to explore a little more of the city before leaving. After all, it was already late, so spending more time exploring wouldn't make much of a difference. Mind made, Makoto decided to go and see how the city was at night. Right after he rested a little bit more.

A few minutes later, Makoto rose from the bench, intent on taking a final look at the city. As he moved away from the public square and into the streets, he couldn't help but notice the extreme shift in atmosphere of his surroundings. The streets that were so full of life during the day were now empty, cold, _dark_. That last one was especially apparent that night, when the new moon was still just a tiny crescent. Combined with the lack of any lamp posts or lit windows to provide light, the entire area was bathed in darkness.

Makoto was feeling nervous now. He could understand logically that the people most likely had returned to their homes for the day, but even _he_ knew that something wasn't right. Even in the palace there were nightly sounds that showed that there was life in there. These streets however did not even have that, that's how absolute the silence that reigned there was. There were no sounds from the nearby buildings, no city guard patrolling, he couldn't even hear the sounds of the animals that were supposed to become active at night.

Feeling the urge to leave within him become stronger with each step he took, Makoto decided to set a goal to himself. Looking around, he spotted the roof of a particularly tall building, protruding from the rest of the houses farther down the road. Since it was a decent distance away from him and it made for a good landmark, he set it as his goal. After he made it there, he would find a nearby alleyway to transform and then fly back to the palace. He hadn't really walked all that much, so he should be able to make it back so long as he kept his cool.

As he came out of his musings, Makoto noticed that he had made it to the building already. "I suppose getting lost in thought can be helpful sometimes", he mumbled to himself. Goal achieved, he looked for an alleyway to make sure that nobody would notice his transformation. Unfortunately for him, the only one he found was decidedly unnerving, as it was shrouded in darkness. Mustering his courage, the young emperor decided to take the plunge and continued down the dark passage.

It was a long alleyway. Makoto hadn't seen earlier due to the darkness, but it apparently curved after a certain point, explaining how it was so dark to begin with. Makoto didn't like it. The limited space and lack of visibility made him feel as if he were about to be attacked by some sort of nightmarish Danger Beast, or something equally as dangerous. Suddenly panicking at the thought, he checked himself again to make sure that he was still disguised. He sighted in relief (and a little shame) when he confirmed with his own eyes that his true appearance was still being kept hidden by Maskerade. For a moment he had been overcome with fear that the Teigu had somehow failed and that Night Raid would suddenly burst from the shadows to end his life. A ridiculous fear, he knew, but he couldn't help it with his current surroundings influencing his thinking.

It was at this point that Makoto learned what was worse than being alone in a dark alley in the middle of the night. Being by yourself in a dark alley in the middle of the night _with something else there_. This delightful new knowledge was delivered to him by a scream of terror that was soon followed by a deranged laugh, the likes of which he had never heard in his life. These sounds seemed to echo in his head, freezing him in place.

It was moments later, when another scream was heard, that Makoto realized something extremely important. THEY WERE MOVING TOWARDS HIM!

Unable to move out of sheer terror, Makoto could only watch as a young woman rounded the corner and came face to face with him. This was swiftly followed by a pair of silver flashes appearing around her neck, separating her head from the rest of her body. Blood splattered everywhere, including Makoto himself.

And then, as if to rub salt on the gaping mental wound the ordeal inflicted on Makoto, _he_ appeared. He was massive, a literal giant in comparison to Makoto. He was easily heads and shoulders above most adults (often both in height and in the sense that they no longer had a head). He was dressed in a grey trenchcoat (now drenched in blood), that covered most of his body. Glancing at his head, he could see the pair of hand blades poking out from under the sleeves, the source of the flash he had seen moments before. However, what was the most eye catching about him, was a weird green third eye attached to his forehead. All things considered, the man before him was terrifying.

"Well, well, how delightful", he said, his voice a twisted attempt at a gentlemanly speech to hide the insanity hidden beneath the man, "another victim has appeared before me. And so fast too!". If his first words were said under the mask of a gentleman, that flimsy illusion was shattered, as his words took weird pitches every so often, as if he was trying not to laugh at a joke only he found amusing.

"You've been a very naughty boy tonight kid, walking outside at this hour. What are your parents going to think when they hear about this? ". It wasn't a question, it was a cruel joke, perhaps an intimidation tactic. However, despite the terror that kept him locked in place, a part of Makoto couldn't help but feel pained at the mention of his parents.

A gleam suddenly appeared in the killer's natural eyes, as a nightmarish expression, that could only be loosely interpreted as a grin, threatened to split his face in half. "Ahhh, so they are deceased", he said, his amusement clear for the world to see. "Well don't you worry kid", he said, as he started slowly walking towards Makoto, "You will be reunited with them soon enough!". At that instant, Makoto didn't think, couldn't think, he just reacted on instinct and turned around and ran as fast as he could.

A hand suddenly gripped his left shoulder, stopping him dead in his tracks, "Now now, don't be rude, we weren't finished with our talk yet" the killer whispered to his ear from behind him. "Why don't we continue where we left off? I am in the mood for a little conversation".

There are a lot of things that one could call Makoto, but unobservant was not one of them. He was quite certain that the so-called talk wouldn't involve any words leaving his mouth. In front of such a tremendous threat, he had only one option to keep himself alive. Throw caution to the wind.

With but a thought sharp spikes grew rapidly from his shoulder, impaling the hand holding him in place, before being ejected like projectiles through the offending hand and into the sky. Caught by surprise, the killer drew back his left hand with a surprised shout, before his right shot forward in a flash, his blade out and ready to sever another head.

Fortunately, he struck nothing but air as the young boy had turned into a black cat running full speed to get away.

Makoto was running away as fast as he could, eyes locked on the end of the alley, when he felt instincts, he didn't know he had, screaming at him. In an instance, the black cat leaped into the air and turned into a snake, body bending to avoid the source of sheer _death_ he felt behind him, just in time to avoid a deadly stab by the enraged murderer.

The man didn't waste any time, as his other hand was now moving to slice the snake Makoto in half, only to fail once again as the snake had changed into a pidgeon flapping its wings to escape to the sky.

Makoto was almost there, he just had to clear the buildings surrunding him and he would be safe. Unfortunately, his plans were foiled, as a giant, grinning, hand blade wielding shadow appeared above him, looking down on him with a mad look in his eyes. "Not so fast", the giant shouted as he moved to slice Makoto in half. His choices limited, Makoto chose to become something no self-respecting emperor would ever allow themselves to be called. An insect.

In an instant, the pigeon's place was taken by a small fly which easily evaded the now gigantic hand blade, before two hands attempted to sandwich him in a now very deadly clap. Thankfully, a switch into a balled up hedgehog seemed to render the move rather self-destructive, as the soon to follow pained shout of the man proved.

Scared, hurt and dizzy from the rather powerful clap he received and running basically on auto-pilot, Makoto switched into a merlin, for the extra speed of the small falcon and somehow managed to disengage by flying straight up and out of the killer's grasp. Curiousity overwhelming him for a split second, he looked down and managed to see the killer's face, as gravity kicked in and pulled him towards the ground and away from Makoto, although the young emperor regretted it immediately.

While Maskerade didn't have any ability to predict the future, Makoto knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that that exression would haunt his nightmares for a long time. The look of pure rage on his face, mixed with the madness now clear as day in his eyes was perhaps the scariest thing he had seen in his life so far.

With screams of rage sounding behind him, Makoto decided to make absolutely sure that the madman wouldn't be able to track him down and flew in as fast a pace as possible, while also trying not to crash into something and to keep the terror he still felt from consuming him.

 _ **30 minutes later**_

He had made sure he wasn't folllowed back in any way. He had flown around randomly, many times swooping down into empty alleys and changing into other animals, sometimes birds, others mammals and always keeping a dark colour dominant throughout the forms he took, in order to blend in with his surroundings, be it the night sky or a dark street.

Eventually, he had been satisfied that nobody could track him down now and had decided to take a little break to rest and then try his luck at going back to the palace. Having said that, the small break he had intended to take, had turned into a much longer one than originally intended, taking up about as much time as his attempts to avoid possible tracking.

Which leads us to our current situation, where Makoto was once again approaching the walls surrounding the palace, this time forcing his now merlin body to maintain a steady pace, so as not to tire himself out like before.

The joy Makoto felt as he passed over the walls and gazed upon the palace was not unlike that of a man returning to his home, after spending years unable to return. Within moments he found his balcony and gleefully landed, the act now feeling much more natural than when he left that morning. Switching back to his true form, Makoto took a moment to appreciate the irony of his choice in apparel for that outing, amused slightly by the fact that he had not once revealed it, despite all the time agonizing over which of his clothes could possibly help him blend in with the people (the true answer, as he had learned, was none of them).

Relieved to be back, scared out of his mind by the close encounter he went through and tired beyond belief, Makoto made his way inside his quarters and promptly collapsed onto his bed, not even bothering to try and undress beforehand.

He fell asleep before his head even reached the pillow.


End file.
